Strength Endurance vs Maximal Strength - BB

[MilitaryFighter10]

Good Afternoon All,

I will try and keep this short. First off, a quick little summary of my background and goals:

Current Naval Officer looking to transfer to the Marine Corps in the next year or so (currently deployed so would have to be sometime after that). Grew up with a soccer, wrestling and boxing background, and focusing primarily on Judo, Wrestling and BJJ in college (competed on an international level in Judo). Currently weigh ~220 with ~18% BF. I was just cleared to start working out a couple of weeks ago after splitting my knee open down to bone, and have spent the last 4-5 weeks doing light sessions to get my body used to working out again (I was off my leg for about 3 months and could not do any form of physical activity). I used TB as a supplement throughout college while participating in 10-12 training sessions a week of Judo and Wrestling and getting the majority of my conditioning from our team workouts/practices. Now that I am on deployment, and have been out of the martial arts world for a little while due to operational commitment, I am looking to make TB my primary S&C program.

Right now, I am looking at doing Green Protocol Capacity with an emphasis on running (Fighter template) with the following lifts:
-Bench Press (1RM 295)
-Squat (1RM 390)
-Pull Ups (Max 9)
I am adjusting the run times in the program to continue to ease my knee into working out.

My primary goals are:
1) Lose the weight I put on and slim down a bit (ideally I want to drop to about 195 when I was competing internationally in Judo)
2) Re-establish a baseline level of fitness to build on and get back in shape for martial arts so I can begin competing again upon return to deployment.

Additionally, I want to be in good enough shape for a potential Marine Corps transfer, although this will not be for quite some time so in my head, getting back in shape for martial arts and then tailoring for the demands of the Marine Corps makes more sense to me.

I am currently finding myself in a "paralysis by analysis" situation - I am wanting to create the perfect program to get back into martial arts shape but find myself flip flopping back and forth. I like the standard BB template but I also need to improve my cardio severely and like the Green Protocol Capacity layout. The downside I see with that is that there is no SE during the 12 weeks of Capacity, and the thought of not doing any calisthenics is alien to me (I primarily did bodyweight exercises in Wrestling/Judo and supplemented with Strength to maintain a good strength/weight ratio).

I want to utilize Capacity for my basebuilding phase:
1) Would there be any possibility to throw SE in the mix during Capacity, or would it be more advisable to just do max strength for 12 weeks and then incorporate bodyweight/calisthenics in follow on protocols?
2) Does Capacity seem like the best fit for me given my goals, or would a standard BB make more sense given that my current priority is Combat Sports fitness first, and then adding in specific Marine Corps demands down the line?

Thanks any and all for the time and consideration!

[TBPenguin]

The difference between the perfect program and the less than perfect program while you get your knee back to healthy and drop 25 lbs probably isn't that much. Maybe consider not doing either Base Building or Capacity yet - let the knee and diet improve to the point where you are confident that you can do either as written, rather than trying to scale them down. In the interim Fighter Bangkok, using the Grunt cluster which as you know KB recommends for higher conditioning loads.

[K.B.]

Good Afternoon All,

I will try and keep this short. First off, a quick little summary of my background and goals:

Current Naval Officer looking to transfer to the Marine Corps in the next year or so (currently deployed so would have to be sometime after that). Grew up with a soccer, wrestling and boxing background, and focusing primarily on Judo, Wrestling and BJJ in college (competed on an international level in Judo). Currently weigh ~220 with ~18% BF. I was just cleared to start working out a couple of weeks ago after splitting my knee open down to bone, and have spent the last 4-5 weeks doing light sessions to get my body used to working out again (I was off my leg for about 3 months and could not do any form of physical activity). I used TB as a supplement throughout college while participating in 10-12 training sessions a week of Judo and Wrestling and getting the majority of my conditioning from our team workouts/practices. Now that I am on deployment, and have been out of the martial arts world for a little while due to operational commitment, I am looking to make TB my primary S&C program.

Right now, I am looking at doing Green Protocol Capacity with an emphasis on running (Fighter template) with the following lifts:
-Bench Press (1RM 295)
-Squat (1RM 390)
-Pull Ups (Max 9)
I am adjusting the run times in the program to continue to ease my knee into working out.

My primary goals are:
1) Lose the weight I put on and slim down a bit (ideally I want to drop to about 195 when I was competing internationally in Judo)
2) Re-establish a baseline level of fitness to build on and get back in shape for martial arts so I can begin competing again upon return to deployment.

Additionally, I want to be in good enough shape for a potential Marine Corps transfer, although this will not be for quite some time so in my head, getting back in shape for martial arts and then tailoring for the demands of the Marine Corps makes more sense to me.

I am currently finding myself in a "paralysis by analysis" situation - I am wanting to create the perfect program to get back into martial arts shape but find myself flip flopping back and forth. I like the standard BB template but I also need to improve my cardio severely and like the Green Protocol Capacity layout. The downside I see with that is that there is no SE during the 12 weeks of Capacity, and the thought of not doing any calisthenics is alien to me (I primarily did bodyweight exercises in Wrestling/Judo and supplemented with Strength to maintain a good strength/weight ratio).

I want to utilize Capacity for my basebuilding phase:
1) Would there be any possibility to throw SE in the mix during Capacity, or would it be more advisable to just do max strength for 12 weeks and then incorporate bodyweight/calisthenics in follow on protocols?
2) Does Capacity seem like the best fit for me given my goals, or would a standard BB make more sense given that my current priority is Combat Sports fitness first, and then adding in specific Marine Corps demands down the line?

Thanks any and all for the time and consideration!

What are you planning on doing after Capacity? That could change the suggestions below - it might determine whether you add some SE now or wait. A few ideas off the top of my head:

1. Fighter/Bangkok as suggested by TBPenguin. Replace one LSS with an SE session.
2. Swap out a block or two of Fighter for a block or two of SE (2 Day GP Model). For example weeks 9-12.
3. Use a mixed weighted bodyweight/barbell cluster for Fighter (weighted push-up/weighted pull-up/barbell front squat etc.)
4. Do a couple SE blocks (3 Day GP Model) after you finish Capacity.

I'm leaning toward number 2 or 3. As per your post you're going with the Fighter version of Capacity to emphasize running. 4 runs/week is better than 3 for that particular goal. If you do Bangkok, you lose out on that 4th run.

When you get that paralysis/analysis thing remind yourself the 'perfect program' in the TB world might consist of multiple programs or phases strung together over time. Capacity is just one of the blocks that make up your perfect program.

[MilitaryFighter10]

Good Afternoon All,

I will try and keep this short. First off, a quick little summary of my background and goals:

Current Naval Officer looking to transfer to the Marine Corps in the next year or so (currently deployed so would have to be sometime after that). Grew up with a soccer, wrestling and boxing background, and focusing primarily on Judo, Wrestling and BJJ in college (competed on an international level in Judo). Currently weigh ~220 with ~18% BF. I was just cleared to start working out a couple of weeks ago after splitting my knee open down to bone, and have spent the last 4-5 weeks doing light sessions to get my body used to working out again (I was off my leg for about 3 months and could not do any form of physical activity). I used TB as a supplement throughout college while participating in 10-12 training sessions a week of Judo and Wrestling and getting the majority of my conditioning from our team workouts/practices. Now that I am on deployment, and have been out of the martial arts world for a little while due to operational commitment, I am looking to make TB my primary S&C program.

Right now, I am looking at doing Green Protocol Capacity with an emphasis on running (Fighter template) with the following lifts:
-Bench Press (1RM 295)
-Squat (1RM 390)
-Pull Ups (Max 9)
I am adjusting the run times in the program to continue to ease my knee into working out.

My primary goals are:
1) Lose the weight I put on and slim down a bit (ideally I want to drop to about 195 when I was competing internationally in Judo)
2) Re-establish a baseline level of fitness to build on and get back in shape for martial arts so I can begin competing again upon return to deployment.

Additionally, I want to be in good enough shape for a potential Marine Corps transfer, although this will not be for quite some time so in my head, getting back in shape for martial arts and then tailoring for the demands of the Marine Corps makes more sense to me.

I am currently finding myself in a "paralysis by analysis" situation - I am wanting to create the perfect program to get back into martial arts shape but find myself flip flopping back and forth. I like the standard BB template but I also need to improve my cardio severely and like the Green Protocol Capacity layout. The downside I see with that is that there is no SE during the 12 weeks of Capacity, and the thought of not doing any calisthenics is alien to me (I primarily did bodyweight exercises in Wrestling/Judo and supplemented with Strength to maintain a good strength/weight ratio).

I want to utilize Capacity for my basebuilding phase:
1) Would there be any possibility to throw SE in the mix during Capacity, or would it be more advisable to just do max strength for 12 weeks and then incorporate bodyweight/calisthenics in follow on protocols?
2) Does Capacity seem like the best fit for me given my goals, or would a standard BB make more sense given that my current priority is Combat Sports fitness first, and then adding in specific Marine Corps demands down the line?

Thanks any and all for the time and consideration!

What are you planning on doing after Capacity? That could change the suggestions below - it might determine whether you add some SE now or wait. A few ideas off the top of my head:

1. Fighter/Bangkok as suggested by TBPenguin. Replace one LSS with an SE session.
2. Swap out a block or two of Fighter for a block or two of SE (2 Day GP Model). For example weeks 9-12.
3. Use a mixed weighted bodyweight/barbell cluster for Fighter (weighted push-up/weighted pull-up/barbell front squat etc.)
4. Do a couple SE blocks (3 Day GP Model) after you finish Capacity.

I'm leaning toward number 2 or 3. As per your post you're going with the Fighter version of Capacity to emphasize running. 4 runs/week is better than 3 for that particular goal. If you do Bangkok, you lose out on that 4th run.

When you get that paralysis/analysis thing remind yourself the 'perfect program' in the TB world might consist of multiple programs or phases strung together over time. Capacity is just one of the blocks that make up your perfect program.

KB,

After capacity/base building I am looking at running Fighter/Black or Operator/Black for my follow on protocols (potentially running a 3-6 week block of BW SE before the Black protocols).

My big desire is to return from deployment with a good fitness foundation where I can get back into competing in Judo/BJJ relatviely soon (the technical side of the house I have covered, as there are plenty of Sailors on my ship who are also big into grappling and we are able to arrange sessions during down time). Oddly enough, I found myself more prepared for the Marine Corps (prior to a concussion in college that prevented me from finishing the screening process) following my Grappling S&C program and throwing in longer runs/rucks every now and then during our off days from Judo training. In my head, it makes sense to do capacity first (and having to replace some of the runs with bike/rowing given sea state is not always great) and get the bulk of my Zone 2 during those 12 weeks, then specialize into more fight specific conditioning afterwards since we will be on deployment for quite some time.

I like the option 3 look - what I was really trying to get at was I thoroughly enjoy calisthenics progressions - I never really trained for doing high rep bodyweight movements as that just came with the high volume of martial arts I did. I really enjoyed always trying a harder movement. Right now, I am really wanting to build a solid base of strength utilizing calisthenics progression (and also understanding that the barbell is an incredibly efficient tool for building strength) and then move onto the high rep stuff like push-ups, pull-ups, BW squats, etc. Calisthenics is what I really love.